The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and relevant links.

Gilded Light of Glen Canyon

Golden light illuminates a remote tributary of Lake Powell and Glen Canyon in southern Utah, where a lone hiker strolls along a still pool that reflects the opposite wall of the canyon. The canyon walls have altered the natural (direct) sunlight with the colors of the Navajo Sandstone.

Even after 50 years, construction of the Glen Canyon Dam and the flooding of most of Glen Canyon remain controversial. The Grand Canyon is known for its wide vistas over the raging Colorado River. Glen Canyon, just a few miles upstream, was more sublime with broad floodplains, vertical canyon walls and relatively tame rapids. Today, about 10 mi (16 km) of the original Glen Canyon remains below the dam. But even there, the ecology has been altered by the controlled flows and cold water from the depths of Lake Powell. I took this image last autumn on a week-long photographic tour of Lake Powell, sponsored by the Grand Circle Field School.